Not only have I virtually visited the Granite State, but also spent a good part of a day up in New Hampshire recently as well.

+ The entire state comprises the diocese of Manchester whose youth ministry page has a banner ad for Soul Fest, New England’s premier Christian music and worship festival.

Would have enjoyed spending more time in New England.  Comment away if there was anything I should check out on a return visit.

In an NCCL White Paper, Dr. Mike Carotta proposes the question “Given all that we now know about adolescent spirituality, good catechesis and youth ministry, how can we enhance Confirmation’s potential to be a more formative experience in the lives of young people?”

Mike wonders if Confirmation has quietly become very functional: the sacramental completion of initiation. Confirmation preparation seems uniformly focused on the fruits of the Spirit, some Catholic basics, the grace inherent in the sacrament, and service projects. Functional and informative.

In his article, Mike suggests that we released Confirmation prep from this narrow – and some would say shallow focus and turned it loose.  Mike wants to know why Confirmation Prep is not more inspirational and transformative.

Many of us are prepping right now for Confirmation Prep, this article should be an essential read.

We are into our seventh week of our tour of the States of Youth Ministry and our twenty-seventh states brings us back to the Nevada.

+ Las Vegas seems to be “all in” on the value of World Youth Day for youth ministry.

+ According to the Reno calendar, today is the Feast of St. Arsenius and there is a "Protecting God’s Children" awareness session tomorrow at Immaculate Conception Church in Sparks.

Off we go, the tour continues, we are more than half-way home.

When I was much younger, I had the gift of an opportunity to offer a eulogy for my uncle.  He was my mother’s brother and I think I freaked her out in my preparation for delivering the message. 

It basically involved trying to spend as much time as possible listening to my aunt and cousins retell stories of my Uncle Dick.  (Occasionally, I would step away and write a note to my self on a scrap of paper.)  Really, having never given a eulogy before, it seemed to me that this is the way eulogizers go about their business.

The morning of the funeral, my mother asked to see my notes.  I had transcribed my scraps into five different lines, each to remind me of a distinct story that had been told in the previous days.  Mom was very concerned if I was truly up to the task.

I started with words that went something like this.  “Richard Clark was an ordinary man. I know that the job of the eulogist is remind you of what an extraordinary guy the deceased was… but that is not the case.  My uncle Dick was ordinary, he loved his wife – ordinary; he loved his kids – ordinary; he was a member of the church – ordinary; he was a professional in his career – ordinary; he contributed to the community – ordinary.  It was all ordinary stuff – - but, please, allow me to repeat a few stories to share you how an ordinary life can be lived so very much extra-ordinarily…”

Each repeated story was introduced and concluded with previous lines from above…    “Uncle Dick was ordinary, he loved his wife – ordinary; but how he loved his wife, well, that’s a story of extraordinary…”

More recently, I had gone off on retreat.  The director had us each write and deliver our own eulogies… which could have been a trivial task but for the intentionality and the integrity of the participants.  If my life is to be a better story, I want to live in such a way not that the eulogy design will be repeated, but that family, friends, and partners in ministry will all be able to equip the poor eulogist with tales of an ordinary life lived in extraordinary ways.

(This is a contest entry in hopes that I might win a pass to Living a Better Story conference. After I read this book and blog a little about it, I’ve been seeking a “wholeness is found in the integrity of living within all the moments.”

Nobody wants to die and earn a eulogy. I want to love the better story for today not tomorrow.  I want to feel alive now.

Don Miller spent some time with screenwriters to better figure out “his story.” I’d love the opportunity to get out to  Portland to get a better handle on my own “history.” Anyway, they promised to vacuum the space around my seats and to make sure you have fresh mints and bottled water (which sounds like a great way to make friends with my conference neighbors.)

Pretty sure that I posted this up quite a long while ago… but funny is still funny.

Just goes to show you that there those who resisted “new technologies” from way back.

I was up early this morning… blogging (as is my way.)  I was setting up more posts in the queue, ensuring that I was good to go for most of the remainder of the month.

I paused to review the past week of postings, kind of fascinated how the posts that I had set up earlier this month were actually speaking to my own life this week as well.

Then, at 5:04am local time, it hit.  It was a very brief rumble, probably not lasting for more than ten seconds.  It was my first experience of an earthquake, but, really, I’ve experience more turbulence on a plane. Nonetheless, the  US Geological Survey reports an epicenter within fifteen miles of my place and that it was at a Richter Scale level of 3.6. UPDATE: which seemingly is the largest quake ever in the DC area.

Two observations:

>> It is always fascinating when real life imitates the life inside one’s head.  There has been much shifting grounds around me, yet I remain standing.

>> Just six months ago, Catholic Relief Services has since distributed food to nearly 900,000 people. They are currently providing food to more than 90,000 students in over 270 schools, and monthly food rations to more than 100 orphanages and child-care centers in Port-au-Prince and Les Cayes, benefiting nearly 10,000 children. CRS has provided emergency shelter materials to more than 114,000 people. Please continue to pray for and support our brothers and sisters in Haiti

Success is peace of mind
knowing you did your best
to become the best
that you are capable of becoming.

–John Wooden

When I reviewed my last visit, it turns out that I am playing two repeats and a new reference… sort of an internet version of “two truths and a lie.” So, let’s try it.

+ Grand Island offers a set of fundraising tips

+ Lincoln sponsors diocesan Canoe Trips with the assistance of the Family Life Office. This three-day outdoor adventure includes daily Mass, confessions, talks, private reflection time, and other opportunities for youth to grow in their relationship with Christ.

+ Over in Omaha, their newsletter recycles (theme of this posting?) an article Adolescent Catechesis: The Promise and the Pain by Robert McCarty, D.Min.

So, which diocesan reference contains new information?

Stop waiting for the moment… for the job title… for the audience… for permission… for whatever it is that you think is blocking you up from leading.

Pure leadership means showing the way for others, either by example or by explicitly promoting a new direction.

We all intuitively know that leading by example is the most powerful form of leadership, but ironically it’s often the most overlooked. As Mahatma Gandhi once said “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Leading by example is something that we can all do, no matter our role, no matter our position. We can all make the choice and take responsibility to be the change we want to see. We can all take initiative, we can all make the decision to “show the way for others”.

Read more on this from George Ambler.  Meanwhile, understand it all as this… 以身作则 (yǐ shēn zuò zé) To set a good example / Set yourself as the standard

This state is the reason why we make a tour like this visiting states like this.

+ While we visit lots of diocese like Great Falls – Billings who are promoting World Youth Day,

+ We can always be surprised by Helena who still has one of the very best looking web sites. But, I am reminded of this April posting where I praised how they set up the review of their youth conference.

Anything else that we should know about?  Help with a comment.